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LAND HO! Sabado & Crew Have Arrived in French Polynesia

Holly Hendricks | May 13, 2024

Our first glimpse of land was just before sunrise. We were surrounded by large, dark shadows. 

It smelled like wet dirt and sweet flowers. We dropped the sails and motored as the mountains blocked the wind. I could hear a chorus of birds and crickets over the sound of the engine. We sat at the helm together, waiting for the sun to illuminate our surroundings. Slowly but surely, we could make out the dramatic shoreline of steep cliffs, dark rock, and lush greenery… Land ho! 

It was breathtaking. There were tears of joy and repeated shouts of excitement. We have been preparing for this passage for years, and it felt surreal finally crossing the finish line in the Marquesas Islands. We hugged and kissed and high-fived; doing this with just the two of us made it all the more special. 

We dropped our anchor in Atuona, the official port of entry, to clear customs and immigration, but first, we popped open a bottle of champagne and toasted our achievement— 4,048.7 miles, 27.04 days, average SOG 6.2kn, maximum SOG 14.4kn.

We sailed across the Pacific Ocean. 

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments on our daily updates; we loved having you as our virtual crew! We have so much more to share about our passage, but for now, we need a break to rest and recover. See you next week. ❤️ 

18 Responses

  6. Congratulations! Your long range planning, attention to detail, and bravery shines through, as you achieved this amazing goal! AND, you had fun doing it!

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